Barack Obama not only misled Americans when he said his healthcare law would not affect existing insurance plans, he guaranteed patients could retain their current doctors, too.

As with countless prior promises, this statement has now been proven false for a number of reasons. Primarily, at least in the leftist bastion of California, many residents will not be able to keep their physicians because such professionals are racing to distance themselves from the unpopular law.

California Medical Association President Dr. Richard Thorp said it isn’t surprising “that there’s a high rate of nonparticipation,” noting that ObamaCare would force doctors to take steep cuts in income.

“We need some recognition that we’re doing a service to the community,” he conceded. “But we can’t do it for free; and, we can’t do it at a loss.”

After spending years honing their craft in medical school and as a resident, doctors rely on the opportunity to earn a stable salary. In addition to repaying student loans and protecting themselves against malpractice claims, doctors quite frankly deserve compensation for their dedication and expertise.

Unfortunately, doctors across the U.S. are finding it more difficult to make ends meet, leading to a dearth of new medical school enrollees. Those already practicing are turning away from the new healthcare law in droves as seven in 10 California doctors report their opposition to ObamaCare.

Doctors in the Democrat-controlled state receive abysmally low federal reimbursements for Medicare and other medical procedures. Dr. Theodore M. Mazer explains physicians in other states receive more than three times as much as those in California, who currently receives just $24 from Medicare for return-office visits.

This disparity has resulted in the mass exodus of doctors from the state’s healthcare exchange.

While the so-called Covered California program boasts a large network of participating doctors, many experts point out such rhetoric is misleading.

CMA executive Lisa Folberg explains many physicians “have been put in the network and they were included basically without their permission.”

“This is a dirty little secret that is not really talked about as they promote Covered California,” he explained, noting most of the doctors he represents refuse to participate in the program.

Whether by doctors opting to refuse certain patients or simply retiring early, the bottom line is ObamaCare’s mandates only ensure patients have less access to quality healthcare. When conservatives predicted this very outcome early in Obama’s reign, leftist were quick to castigate them as racists who want the program to fail.

Even as the law’s disastrous consequences continue to be revealed, however, its advocates remain willfully blind to the truth.